Flabellina goddardi

Carpinteria State Park, Intertidal Zone , California
Photo courtesy of Jeff Goddard
Copyright 2010

Jeff and sons Will and Ziggy in the field at Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California
Photo courtesy of Hans Bertsch

Flabellina goddardi Gosliner 2010 As I mentioned last week, I am amazed that in a place as well studied and dived as California, folks are still discovering new species. This week's critter is second of two described this month by Terry Gosliner. Named after good friend and ace Brancher Jeff Goddard , this new species is known only from the intertidal zone of Carpinteria State Park, Santa Barbara, California (see press release). It is translucent white in body color. Similar to Flabellina pricei and F. pellucida (Bill Rudman's Sea Slug Forum), it differs in that the cerata have a subapical red band, with an orange tip. The rhinophores are smooth. Of significant internal note is that the radula is uni-seriate. All other described Flabellina have tri-seriate radula, with triangular lateral teeth. As Terry explains in the description, numerous other characteristics confidently place the species in the genus Flabellina. This specimen above was about 33 mm in length. As seen in the photo above, it lays a convoluted egg ribbon. The eggs hatch into planktotrophic veliger larvae . F. goddardi even made the National Geographic Daily News! Congratulations Jeff! Send Jeff email at goddard@lifesci.ucsb.edu

For those of you that would like a PDF of this description, please click here !

Sadly, this description was included in the final issue of the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, a 157 year run.

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